The first U-S soldiers are on the ground in Iraq.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

As warplanes dropped bombs onto Iraqi positions in the south of the country, the First Marine Division moved across the border.
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[SS=Assault Begins]

We'll return to CBS News if there are any breaking developments
With Operation Iraqi Freedom underway, hundreds of Virginians, including many from our area, are preparing to join the war effort.
Governor Mark Warner was at Fort Lee today to offer his support and a helping hand to members of the Virginia National Guard.
[DOUBLE BOXES=SHannon & Meghan/State Microwave;]

Our Richmond Bureau Chief Meghan Muldoon was there.
She joins us now with more.
119 men and women from
[LIVE= Meghan /FULL State Microwave]
[SUPER=219-Meghan Muldoon/mmuldoon*wdbj7.com]
[SUPER=205-Richmond]

The Roanoke Chemical unit is waiting for their orders,
most expect to be sent overseas, to an area some have seen before as soldiers in the Persian Gulf War.
[SOT 10:31:47]
[IN Q=LAST TIME THERE]
[RUNS:06]
[OUT Q=DIFFERENT.]

To help ease their burden, Governor Warner signed two bills into law to prevent active duty guardsmen from losing their jobs or annual leave.
[SOT 10:45:49]
[IN Q=SO THEY AND THEIR FAMILIES]
[RUNS:08]
[OUT Q=DIFFICULT FINANCIAL SITUATION.]))
(-------------)
[LIVE= Meghan /FULL State Microwave]
[SUPER=205-Richmond;]

Most of the soldiers we spoke today say they are ready to go.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Shannon & Meghan /State Microwave;]

Theirs is a dangerous mission but they say it is something they have been training for a long time.

[Tech-Reaction ]

Students at Virginia Tech staged a walkout today in response to the war.
But while many ditched class as a statement against the war, others did so to support it.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Myranda & Shannon/Microwave;]
New River Valley Bureau Chief Myranda Stephens joins us now with more.
Shannon, the walkout took place at eleven this morning,
[LIVE=Myranda/FULL]
[SUPER=219-Myranda Stephens/mstephens*wdbj7.com;]
[SUPER=205-Blacksburg;]

but as you said, not everyone came with the same objective.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=WE CARE]
[SUPER=201-Lyra Rosenfeld/Anti-War Protester; :00 QUICK!!!]
[SUPER=203-Blacksburg; :05]
[SUPER=201-Ahmed Ali/Anti-War Protester; :13]
[SUPER=201-Eric Perez/Supports the War; :32]
[SUPER=201-Charles Steger/VT President; :53]
[RUNS=1:14]
[OUT Q=THIS SORT OF ISSUE]
(([SOT 25:26]
[RUNS03]
((LYRA ROSENFELD: WE CARE THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE HURT THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE 25:29))
War kills innocent people.
That was the message anti-war protesters were hoping to send, as they demonstrated at the War Memorial.
[SOT 23:53]
[RUNS13]
((AHMED ALI : 23:53 NO MATTER HOW PRECISE THE MISSIONS OR WEAPONS THAT THEY USE AGAINST IRAQ BUT INDEED THERE ARE GOING TO BE INNOCENT PEOPLE KILLED AND I ONLY CARE ABOUT THEM 24:06))
Across the way...a small group of war supporters made their own statement.
[SOT 27:44]
[RUNS:09]
((ERIC PEREZ: 27:44 IF OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN COMBAT ARE OVER THERE IN DANGER I THINK IT'S OUR JOB AT HOME TO DO WHATEVER WE CAN TO SUPPORT THEM THEY'RE OVER THERE RISKING THEIR LIVES FOR OUR FREEDOM OVER HERE 27:53))
Talks of war continued inside Cassell Coliseum, where university adminstrators met with students to talk about safety issues and other concerns they may have about the war's effects on campus.
[SOT 37:11]
[RUNS21]
((I THINK THAT AS WE ALL EXPERIENCE TOGETHER THE TRAUMA AND FEAR AND CONCERNS OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN IRAQ TODAY THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO PRESERVE A SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND COMPASSION AND UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECT THE MANY POINTS OF VIEW THAT COME TO THIS SORT OF ISSUE. 37:32))))
(-------------)
[LIVE=Myranda/FULL]
[SUPER=205-Blacksburg;]
Officials told students there will be increased police visibility on campus as well as increased searches at large events.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Myranda & Shannon/Microwave;]

[Southside-Flooding]

The other big story we're keeping an eye on today involves the weather.
Southside residents have been watching the skies, as the recent rains have prompted flood warnings up and down the Dan River.
[Double Boxes=Keith and Steve/Starlink]

[Flooding]

Meanwhile, flood waters in Danville are expected to rise dramatically over the next few days.
(------------)
[VO-NAT - :15.5]
[SUPER=03-Danville;]
This morning, the Dan River measured about two feet above flood stage, but the water level should rise tomorrow and Saturday.
The river is expected to crest at around 10 feet above flood stage, which would be the highest the river has been since September of 1996.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT - 1:04:12]
[IN Q=When water gets...]
((CAPT. T.A. BROWN/DANVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT; WHEN WATER GETS SUCH THAT WE CAN'T BE PASSING ON THE MAIN STREET PUBLIC WORKS WILL BE BARRICADING STREETS OFF, BUT IF YOU SEE WATER DON'T TAKE A CHANCE, JUST AROUND AND GO BACK.))
[SUPER=01-Capt. T. A. Brown/Danville Police Department;]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=around and go back.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT - :16+]
Water is already causing problems in some locations.
Residents at the Cabin Lake Apartment Complex had to dodge large puddles to get to their cars, and watched the lake come close to their back porches.
An official at the complex said he doesn't expect the water to flood any apartments.
(------------)

[Piney-Branch]

Residents of a Bedford County subdivision were stranded last month when heavy rains caused their road to collapse. Recent rainfall has added to their problems, but they may soon have an answer to their prayers.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford Co.]

The Oakcrest Hills subdivision lost its only access a month ago, after a section of Piney Branch Road began to give way.
Despite temporary repairs the road has continued to crumble.
The neighborhood is now planning to repair the road with large concrete culverts, and nearby Shady Grove Baptist Church has offered to help.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=We're pleased]
((REV. HARRY LELAND: WE'RE PLEASED WITH WHAT'S GOING ON. I THINK AS A CHURCH FAMILY WE'RE JUST THANKFUL THAT WE CAN BE PART OF HELPING THEM GET A NEW ROAD IN THERE.))
[SUPER=01-Rev. Harry Leland/Shady Grove Baptist Church;]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=get a new road in there.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The church has contributed five thousand dollars toward the cost of the repairs.
The work is expected to begin in the next few days.
(------------)

[Tease#1]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
[SS=NONE]

He's just back from a month in Kuwait.
Middle East expert Dale Davis will join us when News7 @ 6 returns.
(---------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

And later, an accident ties up traffic on I-81, even as a plan to make the road safer moves forward.
(----------------)

[Dale-Davis]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=03-03 TC1:18:28]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Dale Davis is back on post at Virginia Military Institute.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 21:10:42]
(SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
[RUNS=:05]
[OUTQ=NAT ARABIC]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=203-Lexington]
He waded into an Arabic language class this morning, to greet a colleague and some V-M-I cadets. Just back from a month in Kuwait, serving as a military advisor to the Kuwaiti government and state-run T-V.
He told his own class on politics in the Middle East that he was surprised at the timing of the start of the war last night.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 20:50:05]
[IN Q=I felt nothing]
((I FELT NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN UNTIL NOON, 8:00 O'CLOCK THERE.))
[RUNS=06]
[OUT Q=8 o'clock there.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
This was an 8-A-M class. It turned out Colonel Davis' prediction was pretty close. Hostilities picked up again just before noon our time, just after sunset in the Middle East.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
Lieutenant Colonel Davis is back with us tonight. Was this the start of the war, and if so, what happened to "shock and awe?"
[SUPER=201-Lt. Col. Dale Davis/VMI Dir. of International Programs]

[Truck-Accident]

It could be late tonight before a tractor-trailer accident on Interstate 81 is cleaned up.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :34]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]

Officials say the truck out of Troy, Alabama was travelling northbound between Dixie Caverns and the 581-exit when it started to jacknife when the driver put on the brakes.
Rather than hit the car in front of him, Peter Christian Meyer says he ditched the rig into the median.
He and a passenger were treated for minor injuries and released.
VDOT says the right lane and shoulder are open to traffic but that cleanup continues.
(------------)

[I-81]

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Transporation Board is moving forward with both proposals for widening Interstate 81.

(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The proposals by Fluor Virginia and STAR Solutions now advance to the detailed stage of the review process.
V-DOT's Commissioner made the recommendation today after determining that both proposals meet certain technical and financial qualifications.
Traffic volume on I-81 is expected to double over the next twenty years.
VDOT says it is critical that the interstate be improved in a safe and efficient manner.
(------------)

[Sports Tease]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Coming up tonight on News 7 Sports - March Madness begins with an upsetting experience for the Wolfpack.
Coach K weighs in playing games while we're at war.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
and Tony Shaver and Hampden-Sydney Tigers are back in town and they don't plan on leaving without a national championship.
(------------)

[S-State]

The NCAA tournament opened this afternoon with a wild one in Oklahoma City between N.C. State and Cal.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Oklahoma City, OK/NCAA Productions; :00]
N.C. State trailed by two in overtime with 20 seconds to go.
The Pack worked the clock down and got the ball to Scooter Sherill who hits the three pointer. It's 74-to-73 Wolfpack with 12 point 8 second to go.
Cal then beat the State pressure and rushed the ball into the front court. Richard Midgely takes the pass and hits a three of his own to make it 76-to-74 Cal with 3 point 9 seconds to play.
State hustles back down to the other end, but Sherill's three
[super=33-California/76/N.C. State/74/Overtime;]
bounces off the back of the iron and Cal beats N.C. State 76-to-74 in overtime.
(------------)

[S-Lebo]

A source connected to the Va. Tech athletic department told News 7 sports today that UT Chatanooga basketball coach Jeff Lebo was in Blacksburg today to interview for the vacant Tech job.
A source also said Lebo's agent Craig Kelly, who also represents Frank Beamer and Al Groh, was in Blacksburg yesterday.
Tech A.D. Jim Weaver was not available to return our phone call.